The Irish standard., 1887-10-22
HARSH PRISON OFFICIALS.
J. F. x, O'Brien's Communication to
to the London Daily
News,
O'DONOVAN ROSSA'S EXPOSURE.
His Jailers We're Not Only Severe
But Irritating and
Cruel.

Dut IlllLhLLuS teAla
Cruel.
To the Editor Of the London Daily News
S1R,,--I was not in the House in thu
early part of Tuesday evening having
been occupied with special business)
consequently / did not hear the refer
ences to prison treatment made by Mr.
Paruail and others. &c was in the col
urons OF your paper ! read those re-
marks yesterday. read also your edi~
toriai observations on the subject, aud
from the manner in which you touched
upon O'I)onovan Rossa's exposure 0!
his treatment you appear to think that
bis account OF it was, If noG untrust.
worthy, at least exaggerated. For you
say: 1T ought to be impossible even
for al O'Donovan Rossa to say these
things" And when / saw that, i
thought it would be my duty to set you
right on that matter, since ] myself
went through that portion of Rossa' IS
treatment touched upon by you, and
which you appear 70 think Incredible.
L was so closely occupied yesterday
that it was Impossible fox rla 70 take the
matter up. I now try to do So and al
briefly as possible. III your editorial
you say: ".l'he common belief abroad
is that onr law exhibits vindiotiyeness
peculiarly shameful toward this class
!political p1isoners). The belief is SO
prevalent that even O'Donovon Sossa' S
Indictment of the English prison system
received wide credence Or the CONT
nent. 1t set forth in The writer's own
peculiar style that his iaiters were not
ouly severe. bat irritating and cruel;
that he was beaten by tilfs prisons wal
dsrs, compelled to batfe III water in
which his fellow prisoners had washed,
stripped to the skin daily it order to
undergo a degrading, not 10 say a dis
gusting process Of Search
Now, When assure you that the con
duct Of Mr. Balfour on the Treasury
Bench was but y reproduction OF the
''irritating an! cruei,' the insolent,
treatment we we're subjected to daily,
hourly, and nightly; thaJ I ALSO had TO
submit SO i)athe in Ws5ss in which my
fellow prisoners had washed" even the
common ccnvicts; that / GOO :swas
stripped to the ski,A many times in order
TO undergo IL degrading, not to say q
process OF seaycll;" must you
not acknowledge the business ct that
'corntnon belief abroad that your law
exhibits n vindictiyeness peculiarly
shameful toward political prisoners?
That we are treated vindictiyely there
is ne room to doubt, Tor we learned in
prisln from the common Gonvjcfs That
when we were brought to The PRISON.
Milban|l, for instance the prison rules
were enforced with unusual rigor In.
deed, saw it recorded, scratched Oh
the walls Of the prison exercise yard,
the Joy Of tbs common cOnvicts when
the political prisoners were removed
from MiitsSnk and the prison discipline
brought back to tie status quo ante, /
and another political prisoner only re-
there then rs far as [ could
earn. Further, every change of poiiti- |
;al sentiment or action in the outside
Horld excited TO all extraordinary de-
gree certain reflex action within the |
PRISONS. at Portlan d prison we (poiti-
;al prjsoners} work Ell together, and as
matters went on outside we at times
'uffered to work as We pleased and talk
rs we liked, while at other times talking |
vas sought to be prevented, but we suf-
ered punishment rather than submit.
We understood that it wasznot prohib-
ted among common cOnvicts at public
works prisons, such as Portland. On
hose occasions work was rigidIy exact
d. and we were other wise harshly
lsed. For instance, at Portland our
York was stone dressing, ,squaring them,
tc. Some of the stones were large,
nd we were allowed to help each other
q moving them. But, on one occasion;
1e We're not allowed TO help each other,
nd stone was working at was rather
leavY for me to move, and in moving it
ny fingers We're caught between two
tones, aud the top Of one finger was
AIKEN off, and before the wound had
ute healed the prison governor insist
d that I should resume scrubhing my
ell. | refus d, and was named for
unishment cell. butl put down my
anne to see the prison inspector, who
was then coming to Port.
Ind. [ saw him, called his attention
!, the case, and he put a stop to the |
indictive intentions of the governor.
u do not think it we'll to carry this
,tter to too great a length. I think 4
hat I have written NJ ust be sufficient